Cutline: October 7, 1986: The Alliance Jills (Women Of Today) sponsored a get-acquainted evening Monday at Box Butte General Hospital. Pregnant mothers, fathers, and children attended. As parents watched films, the children were taken on a tour of the hospital and shown where their mothers would be while delivering the new baby. One of the stops was at the nursery where some of the newborns will stay. From left are Janell Houston, R.N., Chad Smith, Adam Clausen, Kenneth Red, Kimberly Red, and Chad Armstrong. They are looking in a drawer below cradle in which the baby will rest. Photo by Belinda Amerman.
130 Years Ago
October 2, 1896
While the driver was absent from the milk wagon of A. S. Reed this morning, someone purloined the box containing all of the tickets and money.
125 Years Ago
October 4, 1901
F. B. Cooly and C. H. Sherman are two gentlemen who have apartments in Nate Hart’s building and are offering to the public a cabinet for use in the kitchen. It is the most convenient and complete article of the kind we have ever seen.
120 Years Ago
October 5, 1906
Excavation for the new Bogue building on Wyoming Avenue just across the alley west of the post office, is in progress and the super-structure will be begun as soon as possible. The building is to be 25×100 feet in dimensions and two stories high.
115 Years Ago
October 3, 1911
Monte Richards, an Alliance youngster seven years of age, was taken in charge Friday evening by the night marshal. He had stolen a grip at the depot from a lady. The youngster went across the street to the Burlington hotel, where he displayed the articles contained therein to those in the office. Mr. Lockwood, knowing the boy, was suspicious, and immediately went to the depot.
110 Years Ago
October 6, 1916
A trip to the various grocery stores of Alliance reveals the fact that practically everything in the canned goods line will advance in price very soon. Present orders are booked at the same price but when new goods arrive they are quoted at advanced prices. The advance of tin plate is responsible for a part of the raise and the poor crops in the central states takes care of the rest of it.
105 Years Ago
October 4, 1921
W. O. Barnes and a number of other Crawford men are in the city today for the purpose of getting the county commissioners to grade the road west of Hemingford by way of the Lawn Church to the Dawes county line for a connection with the Crawford highway.
100 Years Ago
October 8, 1926
The George D. Darling furniture store, one of the oldest business firms in Alliance, will close out their entire stock of high grade furniture, stoves, ranges, rugs, bedding and household furnishing starting with a big closing out sale next Tuesday. Just as soon as the stock can be sold the building will be vacated, Mr. Darling announces.
95 Years Ago
October 6, 1931
Transients who ask for meals and are given a meal for a brief period of work on the city woodpile have done a great deal of work with the axe. A report for the month just passed shows that 324 did time on the woodpile at Second and Cheyenne. Fifty cords of wood were cut.
90 Years Ago
October 2, 1936
The second irrigation test well in Box Butte County was underway today at the farm of Nels Peterson, four miles north and two miles east of Alliance, with a drill biting away at the sand considerably below the first water, which was encountered at 20 feet.
85 Years Ago
October 3, 1941
Plans are proceeding for the enlarged hot lunch program which will include all of the public schools in Alliance, Mrs. Jay Vance, president of the Parent-Teachers Association council announced today. “The PTA council has voted to sponsor a program which will make hot lunches available in all public schools during the coming year,” Mrs. Vance revealed.
80 Years Ago
October 4, 1946
Two Box Butte County “flying farmers” were seriously injured at 8:30 Thursday morning when their plane crashed in a field 20 miles north of Alliance on the William Iodence ranch as they were hunting coyotes. William Freimuth, 34, was piloting the plane and George Schefcik, 21, was handling the shot gun in a coyote chase when the plane crashed.
75 Years Ago
October 2, 1951
A fellow in a neighboring town wasn’t feeling so good so went to the doctor. The doc prescribed some pills and told the fellow that if he didn’t feel better within a few days to come back. The man returned to the doc several days later still feeling under the weather. After some thought the doc announced that the fellow had better have his teeth out. The man pulled out both an upper and lower plate showed them to the doc and commented: “There, my teeth are out, and I still don’t feel any better.”
70 Years Ago
October 1, 1956
A best-selling novel, “Away All Boats,” and the movie on which it is based, have special interest to an Alliance woman, Mrs. Inice Dunning, 703 Big Horn. The author of the novel, Kenneth M. Dodson, is her cousin and a nephew of Mrs. Dunning’s mother, the late Mrs. J. C. McCorkle, who lived here 50 years.
65 Years Ago
October 5, 1961
Eleven University of Nebraska journalism students will combine work with pleasure at Alliance this weekend. The students will be guests of Nebraska Associated Press newspaper members at their annual meeting, and will sharpen their editorial skills by publishing Friday and Saturday editions of the Alliance Times-Herald for publisher Gene Kemper.
60 Years Ago
October 6, 1966
Alliance has been chosen as one of four district qualifying sites for statewide cross-country competition among Nebraska prep athletes. Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney also will host district meets October 29 to qualify Class A, B and C runners for the state meet at Lincoln’s Pioneer Park Nov. 12.
55 Years Ago
October 5, 1971
The Alliance Fire Department and the Pine Ridge Mutual Aid will host a one-day school here Sunday. A special attraction will feature the Chadron Job Corps Fire jumpers in conjunction with the Nebraska National Forest Service.
50 Years Ago
October 7, 1976
American Legion Post No. 7 is kicking off its Building Fund Drive today. Present plans call for a structure 70-ft x 130-ft on the same site. This will be a steel building with a brick veneer front, one story, no basement, according to the announcement released by Post Adjutant Rich Edward Thursday.
45 Years Ago
October 6, 1981
Brown bags everywhere. To the left. To the right. To the front.. To the back. Brown bags on most every table. At some tables, just a few. At others, a bag-makers gold mine, as brown-bagging grows to fad proportions at North High School, at Middle School and at the three elementary schools in Alliance.
40 Years Ago
October 6, 1986
The Alliance High School marching band attended the Sidney Band Day Saturday and came home with the Class A competition title. According to Dick Rischling, AHS band instructor, there were 22 schools at the competition.
35 Years Ago
October 3, 1991
Dick Boness, Alliance High School principal, has announced that in future football games, no students will be allowed on the playing field before the game or at half time. The Victory Line will be formed by band members and cheerleaders only. “If students persist in running around during the game, they will be escorted out of the stadium,” Boness said.
30 Years Ago
October 2, 1996
The Alliance Police Department seized approximately one and a half pounds of marijuana from an Alliance residence Monday. The persons involved were drying the drug when a third party notified the police, who began an investigation in conjunction with the Western Intelligence Narcotics Group (WING). The marijuana, estimated at $1,500-$2,000 in street value, will be sent to North Platte for testing.
25 Years Ago
October 2, 2001
Craig Kumpf, Alliance Boys and Girls Home director, and Tracy Felker of Nebraska Health and Human Services detailed the Tuesday, Sept. 11, escape of five youths from the facility and subsequent company response in a report during yesterday’s regular Box Butte County Commissioners’ meeting.
20 Years Ago
October 3, 2006
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the staff at Family Rescue Services (FRS) is planning several activities throughout the month to bring awareness to this issue. Maria Swenson, client advocate with FRS, said there would be a candlelight vigil at the Alliance City Park sunken gardens Oct. 6.
15 Years Ago
October 4, 2011
Monday night, the Alliance Public Schools board of Education approved a 1:1 laptop program at Alliance High School. Under the program, students would be issued laptops for class work.
10 Years Ago
October 5, 2016
David and Josephine Leon were both born and raised in Alliance and both families lived in Alliance all their lives. Not only did David and Josephine watch the city of Alliance develop from a different culture and time than what it is today but both got to watch it together as a couple. David and Josephine Leon are celebrating 70 years of marriage.
5 Years Ago
October 6, 2021
The Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office has received a set of six AEDs, which it hopes to use to save lives. The Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Brand Committee, which received four AEDs, benefited from a major grant to the Department of Health and Human Services from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Melcher